Sometimes
The party was over. That is, for him it was. Flash Sentry had quietly distanced himself from the festivities. It proved surprisingly easy to do so. Not one person seemed to take notice of him as he subtly but deliberately worked his way towards the cave exit, deftly avoiding crowds and circles until he had finally walked into the night. The music behind him, Flash put his hands in his pockets, took a sigh of relief, and began to walk away.
It was a beautiful night. The stars were out and the breeze tickled his earlobes like a playful lover. Flash blushed at the though and quickly shook it off. The last thing he needed to be reminded of was…well, there were a lot of things he needed to put behind him, not the least of which was the revelry. It was hard being around so many happy people when he wasn’t.
Back in the cave, the crowd yelled as a new song picked up. “Club’s jumping tonight,” Flash said to no one but himself. A part of him wanted should go back. A small part, he knew. Flash had a reputation for being one of the most popular boys in school. He’d always been told he was special, and maybe he was. But not special enough, it seemed.
Not good enough for her, or for “her.”
Despite the heaviness in his chest, Flash allowed himself a smile. He really needed to get away from it all; the crowds, the music, the lights, the magic. God he was getting sick and tired of magic. Nothing in his life had made sense once Equestrian magic had entered it. Now instead of worrying about girls and bullies, Flash had to contend with demons, sirens, and monsters.
High School. It’s hell on earth.
With nothing but the wind and his own musings for company, the youth began to walk back to camp. Everfree was just another step in a long line of failings in Flash’s young life. He had strived to be the best in everything; school, sports, grades, relationships…all Sentries were winners, after all. He’d managed to remain humble through most of it, but from time to time he did let the miasma of popularity get the better of him until he was too blind to see what was right in front of him.
Leave it to Flash to fall for two girls from another dimension, only to have them slip away. The first had only used his own popularity to establish herself as Queen Bee of Canterlot High. The second had returned some of his affection, but in the end had chosen duty over love. Then there was the third girl. Who was technically the “second” girl, with glasses…or was she technically the “first” girl since she had been born here, whereas the other two were from another world?
Schematics. In the end, he’d lost them all.
Flash didn’t fear walking through the woods. He’d faced enough scary things to worry about sounds in the dark. Once the trees cleared and the path opened up he found himself back at camp. Camp Everfree was nice when there was nobody around. The new dock looked splendid in all its candle-lit glory. Flash was proud to have been a part of leaving such a wonderful legacy for future campers. A lot of great memories would be left behind when they returned to CHS in the morning. For most campers, any way. Flash wasn’t sure what he’d take with him when he got home.
Standing on the edge of the dock, Flash found his eyes drifting toward one of the candles. He sighed. “Get over it,” he told himself, his fingers instinctively clenching as if to grasp something that wasn’t there. “She told you to move on. So stop sulking like some freshman who just botched his first date.” Come to think of it, she had been his first date. She had also been his first kiss. The sensation of her lips on his made his checks flush like red-hot embers. “Dammit, Flash. You really screwed up.”
“Talking to yourself?”
The voice made him jump, literally. Flash’s face was so beat red when he turned around that he half-considered throwing himself in the lake and drowning. It would have been a preferable end to facing Sunset Sh…wait a minute.
“D-Derpy?” Flash’s voice squeaked. It was not a manly sound. “What are you…I mean…how long did you…I didn’t squeak!”
Even with one eye looking the wrong way, Derpy still managed to give Flash a peculiar look. “What?” She was wearing a dress with a with a wide skirt. Two shades of green vied for dominance on the fabric, but what was most catching, aside from her amber-colored eyes, was the ring of orange flowers she had around her waist and head. The latter made her seem like some bizarre monarch of some pastoral kingdom, but somehow Derpy managed to make it work.
“Nothing.” He cleared his throat. “Just thinking aloud. So what are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be at the party?”
“I was about to ask the same thing. Of you, I mean. Not that I was going to ask myself. Because I don’t do that. Talk to myself, I mean. Well, sometimes I do. I do it a lot actually. Usually I’m the only person around to talk to and no one else is a better listener than I am. I’m ranting, aren’t I?” Embarrassed, Derpy began to tentatively dig the tip of her heel into the wooden floor. “I’m sorry.”
For a moment, Flash didn’t know what to say. He opened his mouth only to say, “Okay,” before closing it abruptly. “We all have our quirks, I guess.”
Derpy puffed out her cheeks. “Does that mean I’m weird?”
“What? No. It means you’re you.”
“Oh.” Derpy blinked twice. “Is that okay?”
“Sure it is. I have my quirks. So does Principal Celestia and Vice Principal Luna. Rainbow Dash and Rarity. Bulge Biceps and Fluttershy.”
“Sunset Shimmer?”
“Yeah. Her too, I guess.” Flash’s hand reached over to scratch the back of his neck without him realizing it. It was a nervous twitch he never really got over and only seemed to happen when he was uncertain about things.
“You really like her, don’t you?” The question was asked with all innocence, yet it felt like someone had slapped Flash in the face. He even felt the redness in his cheeks burn like fire. All around them, the candles seem to lean in close like an audience eager to hear his response. Between them stood Derpy, a quiet girl with a kind heart who only wanted to know one thing. “Twilight Sparkle,” she clarified. “You really like her?”
“Yes,” Flash said. “I mean what’s not to like?”
“But do you like her?” Derpy stressed. “As in do you wish you were together?”
Flash finally stopped scratching his neck and looked at Derpy with bewildered eyes.
“I saw you talking to Sunset the other day,” the blonde told him. “Everyone knows you had a thing for Twilight Sparkle. Heck, I think half the boys at CHS did. Especially after the Friendship Games incident. Something about bad girls really makes you boys hot under the collar.” Derpy twirled her fingers. “What I mean is Twilight is great. I like her. Not like that, I mean. I’m not…that is…”
“Derpy,” Flash took one step forward. “Is everything all right?”
“She’s not your Twilight,” Derpy blurted out. Half the candles flickered as if shocked by her reply. “I’m sorry. That didn’t come out right. What I mean is, the girl you liked, that we all liked, she’s gone. There’s a good chance she’ll never come back. Then the new girl shows up and, well, you had that look in your eye again.”
Flash’s head listed slightly to the side. “And that would be…?”
“The same look you’d get whenever Sunset was around. I know. I remember it well.”
“Were you…watching us the whole time?”
Derpy yelped. “No! I was just observing. It’s what I do. I listen and I observe. It’s pretty much all I do at school. Well that and passing notes between students during class. But I don’t spy on people.” Derpy’s hands came up to her face as if she’d just been caught red-handed doing something she shouldn’t. “I swear, Flash. I just saw you and Sunset talking. That’s all.”
“First Twilight and now Sunset. Derpy, if there’s something you want to know, just ask it. I have nothing to hide.” That wasn’t true. Why did he just say that?
Too late.
“Well,” Derpy began carefully, “Now that the old Twilight’s out the picture and the new one, well, you see how she looks at Timber,”
Flash felt his shoulders sag. “Yeah.”
“It just seems that you and Sunset were getting along. I was wondering if you two were getting back together again.”
Flash crossed his arms. “No. We’re just friends. At least I hope we are. I tried mending things with Sunset earlier and she just blew me off for some reason.”
“I know. I came over to you when that happened, remember?”
“Oh yeah, you did.” That’s when it hit Flash. “Hey, you did the same thing back when Crystal Prep Twilight blew me off before the Friendship Games. It’s like whenever a girl turns me down, you’re always there to pat me on the back.” He smirked. “Why is that, Derpy?”
Now it was her turn to blush. “No reason!” She shrunk away as if trying to disappear. “I just thought you needed a friend. You looked so sad. I thought…maybe…I could make you feel better.”
Flash’s smile was genuine. “Well you did. Thanks for that.”
This made Derpy perk up, like a pet who just realized its master was home after a long absence. “Really?” Both her eyes were shining. Then just as quickly she began twiddling her thumbs. “I’m…I’m glad.” Her voice shook slightly.
“I really needed that. After Princess Twilight left for the last time, I didn’t know what to do. Sunset and I may have dated, but I didn’t really feel for her way I did for Twilight. Now she’s gone, and there’s a girl with the exact same face and name walking the halls of CHS. It’s scary.” Flash glanced sideways. “Now she’s chosen another. What Sunset said to me the other day, she told me to move on, and she’s right. The old Sunset would have laughed in my face and called me a loser to fall so hard over a woman who would never love me.”
“But she’s not like that anymore,” Derpy said defensively. “Everyone likes Sunset Shimmer now. She’s everyone’s friend.”
“And mine especially. She told me the truth, no matter how hard it was to hear. Only a real friend would do that. She cares about me, which is why Sunset doesn’t want me to be stuck in the past. I have to move on or else I’ll always be unhappy. I know she doesn’t want that. And neither do you.” Looking back, Flash gave Derpy the warmest smile. “Thanks Derpy. Sunset may have knocked me down, but you helped me back up. That also takes a real friend.”
Derpy smiled. “I’m glad. So does that mean we’re friends?”
“Duh! Of course we are.”
“Great!” Derpy perked up. “From now on, whenever a girl breaks your heart, I’ll be there to pat you on the back and buy you a soda.”
Flash winced. “Gee thanks.”
“It’s what friends do.”
A warm laugh was shared between them.
Moments went by. The candles burned in silent viiglence over the newly-built dock. All around then, Camp Everfree was alive with the song of crickets. Fireflies illuminated the night air like live embers, their soft glow a sharp contrast to the brightness of the candlelight.
“So,” Flash began, “did you follow me all the way out here just to make sure I was alright?”
“I saw you leave,” Derpy said, “Sunset seemed busy so I decided to check up on you instead. I was worried about you, Flash. You’ve been through a lot. I wanted to make sure you were okay.”
“I am. Thanks.” His smile grew even wider. “You know you didn’t have to wait until I left to see if I was alright. You could have pulled me to the side and talked to me before I left the party.”
Derpy looked downward, though her other eye still seemed to be looking right at him. “I didn’t want people to see us talking. A lot of eavesdroppers, you know?”
Flash scratched his chin. “Hm? I think I know a friend who likes to do just that.”
Derpy chuckled. “Yeah. I bet she’s just too nosy for her own good. Good thing she doesn’t talk too much or else everyone in school might know what she was thinking about him.”
“So she does think about him? A lot?”
“Sometimes.”
“Sometimes is good.”
“Good.” Derpy clasped her hands behind her back. “Do you think about her too?”
He shrugged. “Sometimes.”
“Sometimes is good.”
“Yeah,” Flash muttered. “It really is.”
Derpy blinked. “Did you say something?”
“Just thinking aloud. I do that sometimes.”
“Sometimes…”
“…is good,” Flash finished for her.
Silence permeated the air between them.
Finally, Derpy said, “We should get back to the party. The band’s real hot. Plus, the principals might get worried if we’re away for too long.”
“Yeah. I guess you’re right.”
Derpy nodded. “So…I’ll see you there.” Her smile was brighter than any of the candles, almost blindingly so. She did a small curtsy before turning around, half-stumbling her way off the dock and towards the path that would take her back to the crystal cave where all their friends were dancing the night away.
Flash watched her go before turning to the lake. So many memories were made here. While his time here may not be the highlight of his life, Flash still had so many more things to experience. How many guys can say they dated a she demon and a princess? How many can say they had witnessed their school’s rise from obscurity? How many can say they’d seen magic?
Friendship is magic.
Like a whisper in his ear, Flash had heard the words as surely as if someone had spoken them. He looked around, across the lake and back at camp, until he glanced up at the moon. It was the purest of white, a marble crescent hanging in the inky veil of stars. It had to be his imagination, Flash thought. But then…maybe not.
Taking it for what it was, Flash looked back the way Derpy had gone. “Maybe it’s time I stopped thinking aloud,” he said, before turning his back on the lake. Flash Sentry left the dock behind him, each step longer and more confident than the one before it.